Council Unanimously Votes To Lower Lead Levels In Drinking Water

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce levels of toxic lead in county public schools' drinking water.

Currently, public schools across the county follow the state lead standard of 20 parts per billion (ppb). Bill 2-19, which the council approved Tuesday morning, would set the limit at 5 ppb.

"Scientists agree: There is no safe level of lead, a neurotoxin that permanently damages our children's developing brains and bodies," said District 5 councilmember Tom Hucker, the bill's sponsor. "Now that we have recent testing results from the Montgomery County Public Schools, we must take action. We owe it to our children to do all we can to protect their health."

The consequences of lead poisoning are serious and long lasting. Lead's trail is virtually invisible, discoverable only through finger-prick blood test or when children begin showing signs of learning disabilities, reduced IQ, behavioral changes, anti-social behavior, anemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and a plethora of other neurological and behavioral problems that are thought to be irreversible, according to the World Health Organization.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said people exposed to elevated levels of lead may experience symptoms including abdominal pain, memory loss, headaches, and pain or tingling in the hands and/or feet.

"Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults," according to the EPA. "A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells."

In 2017, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill that required all schools to test their drinking water for lead by July 1, 2018.

Following a countywide review of drinking water last year, officials found 86 of the 208 schools that were tested had elevated lead levels. School officials said the fixtures were removed until post-remediation testing confirmed they were safe to use again.

"Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is committed to the safety of our students and staff," officials said on the school system's website.

Prince George's County and the District already have actions levels lower than the EPA standard of 15 ppb and the state standard of 20 ppb. Prince George's County and D.C.'s lead standards are 10 ppb and 1 ppb, respectively.

"I thank my colleagues for their enthusiastic support for this legislation. Keeping our kids healthy must be one of our schools' top priorities, especially when it involves their brains and ability to learn," Hucker said. "Anything less is simply unacceptable."

• Stricter Lead Limit For Drinking Water In County Proposal